Colchester Oysters: Native Season, the Fishery, and Where to Eat Them

Colchester oysters have a longer history than most British foods can claim. The Romans were harvesting them from the River Colne before they built the town; Colchester oysters were shipped to Rome in sealed amphorae, a journey that would have taken weeks, which says something about how much they valued what was in the barrels. The beds on Mersea Island, which lie where the Colne and Blackwater estuaries meet, have been producing oysters more or less continuously for 2,000 years, and the current season still opens with a civic ceremony in September that involves gin, gingerbread, and the Mayor of Colchester in full regalia.

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A two-thousand-year history

The Romans did not discover the oysters by accident. When they arrived at what would become Camulodunum, the estuary already had them in quantity, and the combination of the tidal creeks, the clean water off the North Sea, and the particular salinity of Pyefleet Creek produced a flat-shelled native oyster that was different enough from the Mediterranean varieties to be worth exporting. Amphorae of Colchester oysters have been found in Roman sites across Europe, which is a practical indicator of how highly they were valued when transport was expensive and perishability was a serious logistical problem.

The industry contracted and expanded over the centuries that followed, but the beds themselves remained. The flat-shelled native Ostrea edulis, which is what people mean by a Colchester oyster in the strict sense, grows slowly and requires clean, cold water, and Pyefleet Creek on the eastern side of Mersea Island has continued to provide both. The creek's relative isolation from the main estuary current gave it a consistency of temperature and salinity that the oysters found agreeable long before anyone was measuring either.

By the Victorian era, the Colchester oyster trade had grown into a serious industry, feeding into London's working-class diet at a price that made them everyday food rather than a luxury. The railway connection to Liverpool Street made the economics work. The Colchester Oyster Feast, held each year on the last Friday of October, dates from that period of the industry's greatest prosperity and has been observed as a civic occasion ever since.

The native oyster season

The native Colchester oyster, the flat-shelled variety that carries all that history, is seasonal in a way that rock oysters are not. The season runs from September through to April, governed by the water temperature in Pyefleet Creek cooling enough for the oysters to be at their best. Rock oysters from the same waters are available throughout the year, but Colchester oysters are the ones with the deep roots, and September is when that part of the calendar starts again.

The official opening takes place on the first Friday in September with a ceremony at the Colchester Oyster Fishery on East Mersea. The Mayor of Colchester arrives in full ceremonial dress alongside the Town Serjeant and the council's chief executive, a Proclamation is read aloud in the traditional form, and the loyal toast to the King is raised with gin and gingerbread, as per an old tradition that nobody seems to have questioned and which, on reflection, seems entirely appropriate. The ceremony takes place on the fishery's terrace overlooking Pyefleet Creek, and on a clear September morning it is a genuinely pleasant place to be standing with a drink.

The ceremony is open to watch, and in any year when the timing works, it is worth going.

The Colchester Oyster Fishery at Pyefleet Creek

The Colchester Oyster Fishery sits on the shore of Pyefleet Creek at East Mersea, where the tidal conditions for growing oysters have been consistent for longer than recorded history. The Colchester Oyster Fishery has been operating since 1966, but the beds it manages are considerably older than that.

You can buy Colchester oysters direct from the fishery, and the range includes much more besides: lobster, crab, scallops, and seafood platters start at £32 and scale to £150 depending on what you want in them. Nationwide delivery is available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, free on orders over £100, which makes it a reasonable option if you want to bring something specific back. If you want to call ahead or check on availability before making the drive, the number is 01206 384141.

Mersea Island is reached by crossing the Strood causeway from the B1025 south of Colchester. On very high spring tides the causeway floods briefly, cutting the island off for an hour or so at the peak. It is worth checking the tide chart before you set out.

The fishery is at East Mersea, roughly ten minutes from the causeway.

Where to eat Colchester oysters

West Mersea is the most direct answer to where to eat them. The island has built its reputation on seafood over several generations, and the combination of fresh Colchester oysters, the view of the water, and the straightforwardness of the whole experience is genuinely hard to find elsewhere in Essex.

West Mersea works best at low tide, when the causeway is clear and you are not watching the clock. It particularly suits autumn visits, when the native season is freshly open and the estuary light in October does something atmospheric to the whole scene. Our guide to West Mersea covers the practical details: what to do when you get there, when to go, and how to read the tide times so you are not standing on the wrong side of the causeway.

On the south side of Mersea Island, the seafront at West Mersea has a handful of seafood places where you can eat very simply and very well. The quality of the shellfish in a good year, eaten close to where it was grown, is the point rather than any particular level of polish in the setting. It is the kind of meal that benefits from low expectations and repays them generously.

Colchester itself has restaurants that serve oysters during the season, particularly in the town centre and along the River Colne waterfront, where eating with a view of the water that runs out toward the estuary and Mersea Island gives the meal a degree of context. It is not the same experience as West Mersea, but it is a reasonable option when the tides are unhelpful or when you would rather not drive.

Wivenhoe sits on the River Colne between Colchester and the estuary, about ten minutes from the city by car, and has its own quieter pull for an evening out. Several of the pubs and restaurants in the village are worth visiting in their own right, and a walk along the riverside path before or after dinner is one of the better ways to spend a mild autumn evening in this part of Essex. Our guide to Wivenhoe restaurants covers the options there.

The Oyster Feast and the annual calendar

The Colchester Oyster Feast has been held on the last Friday of October as a civic occasion for well over a hundred years and remains one of the more distinctive entries in the local calendar. It is an invitation-only event, hosted by the Mayor of Colchester, and not something visitors can attend. Colchester City Council's information about the oyster fisheries covers the civic background if you want to read further.

The events that are open to everyone include the Oyster Fair in Castle Park, which runs during the season and gives visitors the chance to try Colchester oysters in a more informal setting, in the middle of the city, directly beside Colchester Castle. Castle Park is pleasant in most weather, and the Fair is an easy addition to a day that takes in the castle or the Dutch Quarter.

The season-opening ceremony on the first Friday in September is also open to watch, and given that it involves the Mayor, the Town Serjeant, gin, and gingerbread, it has the kind of unhurried British peculiarity that rewards showing up.

Where to stay

Number 11 and The Round House are both in Colchester, within about 20 minutes of Mersea Island by car, making either of them a practical base for a morning at the fishery or an afternoon in West Mersea at low tide. Both are fully stocked on arrival, with self-check-in from 3pm and free parking outside. All four Clever Cottages properties welcome dogs, which matters if West Mersea's seafront walk or the riverside path through Wivenhoe is part of the plan.

Secret Cottage and Queens Cottage in Wivenhoe are also a short drive from Mersea Island and sit beside the River Colne, which runs out toward the estuary. Wivenhoe has its own character and is worth a day in its own right if you have time. Wivenhoe station connects to Liverpool Street in about an hour and a quarter, which makes it a workable option for visitors coming from London who want somewhere quieter than the city.

Please note that all four Clever Cottages properties have steep stairs, which may not suit guests with limited mobility or young children.

If you would like to book directly, you can do so through clevercottages.co.uk.

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